I love coming across a new adjective for God that I haven’t seen before–I get tired of “omnipotent” and “omniscient” all the time! So, it was a nice surprise when reading Practice in Christianity by Søren Kierkegaard to read about God’s recklessness, specifically as it relates to the radical nature of God’s love. I think…… Continue reading Recklessness–God’s and Ours
The Discipline of Humility
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/03/111003fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=allSometimes I feel like the virtue of humility is in an ever-increasing state of short supply. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not talking about the kind of humility that comes from repeated humiliation—a form of oppression and abuse imposed on someone from the outside: the kind that happens to belittled children, battered spouses, and domineered…… Continue reading The Discipline of Humility
A Peace Prize for “Praying the Devil back to Hell”
How wonderful it was to wake up to the news that three women were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year: Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Liberian peace activist Leyma Gbowee, and a democracy advocate from Yemen, Tawakkul Karman. Of the three, I was particularly gratified to see the two women from Liberia recognized. It…… Continue reading A Peace Prize for “Praying the Devil back to Hell”
"Irrelevant Character Flaws?"
There is an interesting article in the October issue of “The Atlantic” titled, “Sex and the Married Politician.” http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/sex-and-the-married-politician/8629/Early on, the author raises the issue of being able to distinguish between “relevant and irrelevant character flaws” when it comes to politicians’ personal lives. It’s a good article on the whole, but I must beg to…… Continue reading "Irrelevant Character Flaws?"
The New Year’s Call to Forgiveness
Regardless of what month the secular calendar shows, religious traditions have their own ways of marking time. For example, for Christians, the new year actually begins sometime in late November/early December, with the first Sunday in Advent. For Jews, the new year actually begins today, with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah. Anyone who was not…… Continue reading The New Year’s Call to Forgiveness
Formed for the Ethical Life
Imagine a man who joined the Marines right out of high school. Let’s say he served 10 years before leaving the military to go to college and get a job in the business world. You can imagine how, even years out of the military, his military formation continues to shape the way he views the…… Continue reading Formed for the Ethical Life
God Isn’t Fair
Two blog posts in two days is a little much, so I’ll keep this one short. I was so excited when I went to church this morning and discovered that the Gospel reading was one of my very favorite parables of Jesus: the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. If you can’t call up…… Continue reading God Isn’t Fair
More "Yes," Less "but"
We are only a few weeks into the Ethics course and we already have identified one major theological issue that makes discussing and describing ethics from a Lutheran perspective difficult: I’ll call it the “but.” Lutherans know that a faithful response to God’s grace includes ethical behavior; Lutherans know that we are empowered by Christ…… Continue reading More "Yes," Less "but"
9/11: a Lesson in Memory
Unless you have been living under a rock the past week, you have experienced the dramatic increase in news coverage as we approach the tenth anniversary of 9/11. NPR, The New Yorker, The New York Times, even Vogue magazine all have run stories reflecting on the events, the people, and the aftermath of that terrible…… Continue reading 9/11: a Lesson in Memory
Unlikely Friendships
I have been a vegetarian for over twenty years now, ever since I graduated from high school. That decision was the culmination of years of loving animals and not wanting to eat them: when I was in sixth grade I had asked my Iowa born and raised parents if I could be a vegetarian; but…… Continue reading Unlikely Friendships
Happy Lutheran 